Brooder



A. R. WOOD Oct. 3, 1933.

BROODER 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed March 28, 1.932

Patented Oct. 3, 1933 res Pm NT oFFica t eaoomia Arthur It. Wood, Santa Cruz. Calit, assignorto' Wood Brothers 00., Santa Cruz, Calib ator poration of California,

J Ai naaot Ma 23, 1932. Serial N6. 601,614

" "5]Claims. (Cl.-119 32) t This invention relatesto brooders of the type employed in chicken hatcheries'for housing and warmingnewly hatchedchicks; and especially to ,a gas heated brooderin which the heat is applied to the chicks inthe form of radiant energy.

'The object of the present'invention is to generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of gas heated brooders; to provide a gas heated brooder inwhichthe heat is applied to thechicksin the form of radiant energy; to provide a brooder in which'radiant heat is uniformly directed over the entire floor area covered by the hover of the brooder; to provide a brooder structure which permits a; free discharge of the products of combustion resulting from the burning of thegas so as to preventcontamination of the air within the brooder; and further, to provide a brooderstructure in which the burners induce a continuous flow, of fresh air, said air entering the bottom or open end of the brooder so as to continuouslyJrenew and maintain fresh air within the brooder and at the same time maintain an ample supply for the burners. V

The brooder is shown-by wayof illustration in the accompanying drawings, :in which-e i Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the brooder partiallyinsection. I I

Fig. 2 isan enlarged bottom view of ,the inner cone-shaped head ofzthe brooder; together with the burners and the radiant-element supported thereby. a 1 I Fig. 3 is an enlarged section and side elevation similar to Fig: 1 takenon line IIIIII of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged central vertical section of the Vmanifold whereby gas is deliveredzto the main-burners and also tothe pilot burners said section being taken on line IV-IV,Fig.--2.;

Referring to the drawings in detail and particularly Figs; 11 and 2, A indicatesthe. hover of a brooder, which, in this. instance, is supported by-leg members, such as indicated at 2. The lower end of the hover is open and is maintained a fixed distance above a floor or other support provided so as to permit the chicks to freely enter whenever desired. The hover may be of any shape desired, preferably octagon or coneshaped as here shown; the hover being frustoconical and being closed at the upper end by a head plate 3.

Secured to the lower side of the head plate is a cone-shaped inner plate 4. This plate forms an interior chamber 5, which will hereinafter be referred toss a flue chamber, as it receives the products of combustion discharging from the burners audit is also connected with a discharge flueor stack 6 or the like to carry the fumes 'away. Suitably secured 'to'the' bottom portion of the inner cone-shaped headmember 4 are a plurality of gas burners, such as indicated at. 7. These burners are of standard construction and they are identical, hence the description of one will suflice. V

The inner end of each burner is Venturishaped, as indicated at 8, see Fig.4, and itis provided with'air inlet openings 9 and a rotary shutter-=10, whereby'the a-mount'of air admitted maybe regulated. A central hub member 11 is provided to secure the burner with relation to the manifold, as indicated at 12, and also to receive a nozzle 13. The burner is otherwise extended to form atube, shown at 'Iin Fig. 3; and it terminates: in ahead member 14 in which are formed a plurality of perforations 15 through which the gas and air mixture discharges.

That is, each burner is of the Bunsen type. The gas discharged by the nozzles 13 enters the Venturi end of the tube' '7 and therebyinduces a flow of air through-the openings. 9, the amount of air admitted'being regulated by the shutters 10. The mixture formed discharges through the perforations 15'and the =fianie, when ignited, discharges'against a series of glow elementsindi- "ca'ted at ;B. The manifold employed is in the form ofa cross as there are four burners. The

'manifold'is' extended upwardly through the flue chamber in the form of a tube, as shown at 16, and this is connected through means of an elbow '17 and a nipple 18 with a valve 19, the valv'ebeing connected with a supply pipe 20 and the flow of gas'bein'g' regulated by the valve 19. This may "be controlled by a thermostat so asto maintain 'a" uniform temperature, but as a thermostat con- -trolis' old a manually controlled valve is disclosed. Each'burner is supplied with a pilot burning tube 21,'which terminates adjacent the discharge openings '15 of theburners a small flame being continuously projected in front of the openings 15 so as to ignite the gas when the main burners are turned on. r V

The pilot tubes 21 connect with an extension' 22 onthe gas manifold, this extension being separated from the manifold proper by a partition member 23. A supply tube 24 connects with the main supply line '20. The gas enters the tubular extension 16 of the manifold, as shown, it passes through the partition 23 into the extension chamber 22, the flow of gas from this tube being regulated by a set screw 25 so that maintained.

from the burners discharges against the refrac tory glow elements, passes over the surface of the same and into hood-shaped members, such as indicated at 40. These hoods are connected through openings 41 with the flue chamber and all products of combustion will thus escape,

through the hoods into the flue chamber and will pass from the flue chamber irito the stack 6 and out into the open atmosphere, hence preventing contamination of the atmosphere in under the hover A. Y

The glow elements are angularlydisposed, as shown, and as such'will project heat-and light rays in the form of radiant energy'downwardly against theflcor or. other support covered by the hover. The radiant energy thus directed will be uniformly distributed and a uniform temperature will be maintained over the entire floor area.

The products of combustion from the main,burners, aspreviously described, will escape through the hoods 40 into the flue-chamber and from there into the; stack.. This continuous flow of heated gases will naturally induce a continuous flow of fresh air. This air enters through the annular opening formed between the bottom of, the hover and the floor.

is enormously large in area when compared with the discharge outlets 41, which] form communication between the hoods and the flue chamber, and, as such, avoids any draft. That is, the fresh air entering around the lower-edge of the hover will have such a low velocitythat cooling of the chicks on theouter fringe-will be prevented. The

flow of. air is, however, more than sufficient to supply the burners and at the same time maintain a fresh clean atmosphere under the hover.

While certain features of the present invention are more or less specifically described, I wish it understood that variouschanges may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

Similarly, that the materials and flnish of the several parts employed may be such as the manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or uses may demand. a

Having thus'described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-- 1. A brooder comprising a substantially conesh'apedhover open at its lower end and closed by a head member at the upper end, an interior head member secured thereto and forming a flue cham- This annular openingplurality of gas burners supported by the inner head and adapted to direct flame against the exterior surface thereof, a plurality of radiant elements interposed between the inner head and the flames so as to be raised to a glowing temperature by the flames and so positioned as to direct radiant energy downwardly against the surface covered by the hover, and a plurality of hood members one adjacent an end of each of said radiant elements supported by theinner head and adapted to direct the products of combustion into the flue chamber.

2. A brooder comprising a substantially coneshaped hover openat its lower end and closed by a head'mlember at the upper end, a cone-shaped inner head secured to the first named head, the space between said heads forming a flue chamber, a stack connected with said chamber, a plurality of gas burners supported at the lower end of the cone-shaped head and adapted to direct flames on lines substantially parallel with the cone-shaped head, glow elements carried by the cone-shaped 'head and interposed between the head and the flames projected by the burners, and a hood member adjacent each glow element to trap and direct the products of combustion produced by the flames into the flue chamber.

3. A brooder'comprising a substantially coneushaped'hover, an inverted frusto conical plate 'within the hover and forming a flue chamber therein, a fuel manifold extending centrally and vertically through said flue chamber, burners extending'radially from the lower end of said manifold'and adapted to direct flames along the surface of the conical face ofsaid plate, a heat radiating element in the path of each of said flames, said plate having an opening and a hood member adjacent the end-ofeach radiating element to direct the products of combustion into said flue chamber.

4. Abrooder comprising a hover having a flue chamber in the upper central part thereof, a fuel manifoldextending "vertically through said chamber, burners extending radially of the hover,

said fuel manifold having a closed chamber at its lower end,'a fuel supplyc'onduit within the manifold and communicating with said chamber,

and pilot tubes leading from said chamber, one to each of said burners.

5. A brooder comprising a hover having a flue chamber in the upper central part thereof, a

fuel manifoldextending vertically through said chamber, -burners extending radially of the hover, said fuel manifold having a closed chamber at its lower end, a fuel supply conduit within the'manichamber wall co-axial with the end of said supply tube to adjust the flow of ber, a stack connected with the flue chamber, a a

fuel to said pilot tubes. ARTHU R R. WOOD. 

